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More Park, Less Way: An Action Plan for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Map of section of Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Photograph looking down the full stretch of Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Text: "More Park Less Way: An action plan to increase urban vibrancy on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway."
More Park, Less Way Report Cover
Project meeting. Group sits in a semicircle of chairs looking at a man talking about something written on a drawing pad.
Brewerytown Community Meeting
Board where anyone from the public can post ideas for redesigning the Parkway. There are many ideas posted.
Community Feedback
Large meeting of the project. Many people in chairs in a long room also containing a few computer work spaces.
Brewerytown Community Meeting
Group meets in a circle. Many ideas are posted on the wall behind them. One person stands by a drawing board and discusses what is written on it.
Fairmount Community Meeting
Man stands in from of white board with a microphone speaking to an audience seated before him.
Francisville Community Meeting
Group meets around a table with project ideas posted on the wall behind them. One woman is standing and writing further ideas on a drawing board.
Logan Square Community Meeting
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with various locations for potential improvement highlighted.
Access Opportunities
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkways with key sightseeing destinations and overall foot traffic flow highlighted.
Destinations and Desire Lines
Map of Benjamin Franklin parkway with key problem areas highlighted.
Key Issues
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with key areas of study and focus highlighted.
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with parks and open spaces highlighted
Open Space Assets
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with key amenities such as local retail areas, restroom and restaurants highlighted.
Amenities
Map of section of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with proposed changes and developments added.
Proposed Actions
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Map of section of Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Photograph looking down the full stretch of Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Text: "More Park Less Way: An action plan to increase urban vibrancy on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway."
Project meeting. Group sits in a semicircle of chairs looking at a man talking about something written on a drawing pad.
Board where anyone from the public can post ideas for redesigning the Parkway. There are many ideas posted.
Large meeting of the project. Many people in chairs in a long room also containing a few computer work spaces.
Group meets in a circle. Many ideas are posted on the wall behind them. One person stands by a drawing board and discusses what is written on it.
Man stands in from of white board with a microphone speaking to an audience seated before him.
Group meets around a table with project ideas posted on the wall behind them. One woman is standing and writing further ideas on a drawing board.
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with various locations for potential improvement highlighted.
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkways with key sightseeing destinations and overall foot traffic flow highlighted.
Map of Benjamin Franklin parkway with key problem areas highlighted.
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with key areas of study and focus highlighted.
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with parks and open spaces highlighted
Map of Benjamin Franklin Parkway with key amenities such as local retail areas, restroom and restaurants highlighted.
Map of section of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with proposed changes and developments added.
More Park, Less Way Report Cover
Brewerytown Community Meeting
Community Feedback
Brewerytown Community Meeting
Fairmount Community Meeting
Francisville Community Meeting
Logan Square Community Meeting
Access Opportunities
Destinations and Desire Lines
Key Issues
Open Space Assets
Amenities
Proposed Actions

In Philadelphia, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway evolved slowly from a gateway to Fairmount Park into an automobile conduit to the city. With More Park, Less Way, PennPraxis worked with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation to recommend a series of series of actions to shape the evolution of the Parkway into a 21st century public space. Through a comprehensive civic engagement process, PennPraxis recommended designing high-quality urban parks on overlooked parkland, reconsidering how the community accesses the Parkway, programming the public space along the Parkway in creative and consistent ways, and developing a structure for ongoing management of the Parkway as a special district within the city.

Because of robust public interest generated through the civic engagement sessions, Parks and Recreation was able to build an audience to support the quick implementation of a summer pop-up park in Eakins Oval. During the summer of 2013, Parks and Recreation reclaimed “The Oval” as the “new shape of fun,” creating a public amenity out of a highly visible surface parking lot.

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